DEVUBEN JAYATBHAI JALU Vs. NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under section 110-D of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, at the instance of the original applicants who had filed an application for compensation under section 110-A of the said Act. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Aux.), Rajkot, rejected the petition in toto, basically on the finding that the Insurance policy in question did not cover the risk of the deceased Jayatabhai Jalu, whose death gave rise to the claim in question.

(2.) In order to apply the correct principles of law, it is necessary first to retain focus on certain basic facts as they appear in the present case. The following facts are either undisputed or undisputable.

(3.) The heirs and dependents of the said deceased owner-cum-driver filed the claim petition for compensation on account of his death. It is pertinent to note at this stage that the claim for compensation was made only against the Insurer of the truck in question, and no other party was joined as opponent-defendant. The reason for this is obvious, inasmuch as the applicants contended in the claim petition that the policy in question covers the risk of both the owner and the driver of the vehicle, or at the very least covers the risk of owner-cum-driver. This being the basis of the claim, according to the claimants, since no other vehicle was involved in the accident, there was no question of holding any other driver of any other vehicle responsible for the accident. Consequently, there was no question of preferring the claim as a third party qua such other vehicle.